Don't Tempt Me
by lizzie bobizzy
Summary: Oneshot. A look at places in the manga where Ren's control is tested and a guess at what might happen if Ren wasn't quite as strong-willed as he is at avoiding temptation in the form of Kyoko. Because not even Ren is a saint…


**title: **Don't Tempt Me…  
**summary: **Collection of unrelated oneshots. A look at places in the manga where Ren's control is tested and a guess at what might happen if Ren wasn't quite as strong-willed as he is at avoiding temptation in the form of Kyoko. Because not even Ren is a saint…  
**credit: **theafricanqueen-crystal . blogspot . com for cover picture

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_Volume XIV, Chapter 93_

_In the previous chapter, Ren has just been informed by Shou—of all people—of Kyoko's stalking incident with Reino of the "Beagles." Frustrated at his inability to protect Kyoko, he takes a walk in the forest outside their hotel in Karuizawa, where he meets Kyoko, who is terrified that she's disappointed Ren in some way by trying to hide the whole scandal from him. Both desperate to resume their senpai-kohai relationship, they attempt to reconcile…_

"TSURUGA-SAN!" Kyoko blurted. "Can I talk to you for a second!" Her eyes teary, she gazed up at him imploringly. "I hope I'm not bothering you or anything!" she blubbered, her voice slightly hysterical. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering a little in the brisk morning air.

Ren looked adoringly down on her. Unknowingly, he took a few steps to be closer to her. Little brat. She didn't even realize she held his very heart in her hands—a couple of words and she could crush him like a bug under her foot. And here she was, staring fearfully up at him, as if he could even think about loving her any less passionately, less fiercely than he did. As if his whole being wasn't already dedicated to worshipping her every part. _Look at her, a delicate wisp of a thing, trembling like a leaf in the wind_, Ren thought ruefully. He wanted to wrap her up in him, shield her from the horrors of the world. At the same time, he wanted to tease her and bully her meanly, keep that tearful gaze of hers trained on him. Some primitive part of him reveled in the way she looked, as if she'd do anything to earn his favor. _Look at me! _Ren thought sheepishly. _Reduced to a few base protective and sadistic desires at the sight of a couple of tears!_

Kyoko, though, completely misconstrued Ren's approach. She scrunched her eyes up, mistaking Ren's tender gaze for an irritated one. _Okay!_ she told herself. _However Ren wants to punish you, you deserve it. Just take it like the undeserving, ungrateful little kohai you are_. She hunched slightly, bracing herself for the beating she deserved from Ren.

After a few seconds of nothing, she slowly opened her eyes. Ren was now smiling at her warmly. Kyoko jolted in terror at the power of Ren's angelic smile.

"Grnh," growled her grudges, who dissolved into ashes in the face of such pure goodness. A little irritation pricked inside Kyoko. Who did Tsuruga-san think he was, to brush her anger and hate away as easily as he did? She wasn't—wasn't a normal girl, and it was unfair for Tsuruga-san to treat her like one! She hoped he didn't treat all the girls as intimately as he did her. At least she wouldn't associate his warm gestures with amorous undertones. (_I don't!_ Kyoko assured herself.) She just wouldn't, couldn't _love_ like that… There was something broken in her heart, and she hated the way Tsuruga-san sometimes made her forget that, using his angelic smile and bright eyes to give her false hope. She was not made to love anymore.

"You're not a bother at all," Ren said softly. "What brings you to such a secluded area?" Ren could probably guess, he thought, as he grinned to himself slightly. The little romanticist had definitely been concocting some fairy tale in her head again. Glancing around at the picturesque scene, Ren couldn't blame her. The woods and the stream lent the environment an incredibly romantic atmosphere.

Maybe if one day…if he and Kyoko were…a little closer, maybe one day…he'd bring her back here, and she could enjoy herself to her heart's content. He'd prepare a picnic basket and maybe she'd—after having spent herself—lean her head on his shoulder, and they'd take a nap—Ren's heart jolted at the mere thought, and he could feel himself flush_. Oh god_, Ren thought as he cut himself off mid-reverie. He groaned internally. He was such a dork. Dreaming of romantic dates in Karuizawa, when Mogami-san wouldn't even look him in the eye right now? He was such a…(he would not say lovestruck, because he was _not _in love with a 16-year old)…ridiculous idiot.

"Well…" Kyoko hedged. She looked down at her feet and shuffled them. Ren watched, entranced, as her eyelashes, thick and dark from her tears from earlier, fluttered against her check. She brushed her hair behind an ear, baring one pointed, tiny lobe. Ren couldn't see her face, but judging from the red-hot of her earlobe, she was blushing furiously. Dark torrents of desire rushed through Ren, who had never had such trouble staying in control before.

_Damn it_, Mogami-san was so adorable, Ren thought miserably. He wanted to curl his fingers around the curve of her ear, then touch his lips to it and take a little nibble. He bit his lip and steeled himself. He could control himself. He could do this. He was stronger than this.

Then Kyoko looked up at him.

She peered up at him with teary eyes through long eyelashes. She blinked a little and smiled bashfully, showing the white of her tiny teeth.

The moisture on her eyelashes made them seem even thicker as Kyoko looked up at Ren through them.

"Well, I, uh…wanted to," Kyoko explained in a murmur, "um…recharge." She grinned up at Ren, almost sheepishly, as if expecting some sort of reprimand.

Ren turned to stone. His muscles tensed, and he groaned audibly. _Christ!_ He wanted to do many, many things to Kyoko, and reprimanding her was nowhere on that list.

It was the tears. It was terribly unfair of Mogami-san to pull the teary eyes on him, as if she cared anymore about his opinion than that of a respected senpai. As if she cared what he thought.

"Tsuruga-san?" Confusion colored Kyoko's question. "Are you—are you mad?" This was a little nervously, as if she had no idea of the turmoil she was producing in him, when she had obviously mastered the art of manipulating men. Her hand clasped in front of her, head cocked to the side, she made a perfectly adorable image with a cutie honey aura. It was the kind of image that drove men to do terrible, great things to win her favor. Ren wanted to strut around with his chest puffed out in front of her and flex his muscles. Kyoko, with her bashful smile, was the kind of woman who reduced men to nothing more than their base desires, primitive, grunting, animals.

There was only so far Kyoko could pull this oblivious act, Ren thought murderously. He hoped to dear God futilely that he was the only one to whom Kyoko showed such an adorable side. He both loved her honest visage, the way he could see her every emotion play out on her face, and hated how she treated everyone this warmly, be it a stranger on the street or her best friend.

His hands been clenching open and closed with the need to—to hold her, kiss her senseless, _touch her_, and now he finally gave them something to hold onto, as Ren grabbed Kyoko towards and pulled her against him.

"Tsu-Tsuruga-san!" she exclaimed in a fright, making a noise of panic. "I'm so, so sorry if I've offended you—of course you think it's unprofessional—"

Tsuruga pushed the back of her head forward. Her mouth moved silently, forming shapes against his collarbone. Tsuruga's lips parted at the feel of the silk of her lips against his skin, and he breathed out, docking his chin onto the top of her head.

_When did I start stroking her hair?_ Ren wondered absent-mindedly. He didn't stop, running satiny strands through his fingers and rubbing the pads of his fingers against the ends of her hair.

Kyoko shoved at Ren's chest. When his arms only tightened around her waist, keeping her locked against him, she resorted to beating against his chest with her fists. She could feel herself turning beet red. She was being pressed intimately against every part of his body. Unused to any prolonged physical contact with males, she blushed furiously at the delightful feeling of Ren's hard chest and stomach, the steel of his toned arms wrapping securely around her.

"Tsuruga-san, if you wanted me to shut up, you could've just _said so_," Kyoko cried. She couldn't think—it was too hot, and Ren, he smelled _so good_, the mint of his cologne mixing in with a more masculine, natural pinewood musk. Kyoko had never been so aware of a man before. "If you're angry, just tell me. You don't have to—to embrace me like some Italian playboy!"

Ren sighed, and Kyoko stiffened. She hated disappointing him in any way, more so if she didn't know why he was disappointed because then she couldn't fix it. He dipped his head so that his mouth was against her ear, and she froze even more, doing her best impression of a stone statue.

_What are you doing? _Ren asked himself savagely. But he couldn't stop. He felt dazed, but his senses had never been so acute. The warmth of the small of her back underneath her shirt under Ren's hand, the shiver along her spine at the touch of his lips to her ear, the flutter of her eyelashes as he pulled her close to him—Ren catalogued all these sensations as they imprinted themselves on his brain. Closing his eyes briefly, he let his nose graze along her hairline before placing his lips right at Kyoko's ear so that his cheek was against her temple.

Ren really really hoped he wasn't imagining the way Kyoko leaned into his embrace, tilting the top of her head against his cheek.

"Mogami-san, I…" Ren scrambled for words to say. Damn his inability to think around Kyoko! "I could never be mad at you, or disappointed, or angry." The truth came rushing out in a torrent, his mind discomfited in a rare moment of weakness at Kyoko's proximity. He vowed fervently, "I will always, to you—I would _never_ feel anything like that—"

"Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko cut him off sharply. She frowned up at him earnestly. Ren groaned at the interruption. He would never be able to gather up the courage now. He wanted to kiss that pert expression right of her lips. Some sort of adrenaline was pumping through him, making him want to do things he hadn't even dared considering before. Kyoko continued, "I hope you won't go soft on me because you think I've suffered a shock or anything."

_What? _"I'm sorry, Mogami-san?" Ren voiced.

"Really," she urged insistently. "Those Beagles are nothing but specks of dirt as far as I'm concerned. Please don't treat me any differently because of them. I need to you treat me just as harshly as always and keep me in check."

_Harsh? Me? _Ren thought confusedly. Was that how she thought of him?

Kyoko leapt out of Ren's hold. Ren, surprised by the sudden movement, did nothing to stop her as Kyoko took several steps back and began bowing profusely. "It was entirely wrong of me to treat you like an outsider, of course. I'm so so so sorry," she wailed. "Please don't say you'll never speak to me again outside of work. I really do consider us—I hope it's not too forward—as, um, proper senpai and kohai, and I was going to tell you, but the timing was all wrong, and then Sho appeared"—Ren flinched at the mention of his rival who didn't deserve an ounce of this girl's attention but got it anyway—"but I really really value our relationship, Tsuruga-san! Please continue to groom me as you would a bonsai—"

Tsuruga took several steps forward, negating any space Kyoko had put between the two of them and cutting off any further prattle from her. He didn't put his arms around the babbling, flushed girl again, but there was no part of him that was more than an inch away from any part of her. He stepped right into her space, forcing her to crane her head to look up at him.

He valued their relationship too, and the admission that Kyoko seemed to enjoy talking to him outside of work warmed him more than he could have thought possible.

A gentle smile took its place upon his features, and Kyoko was captivated. The smile held the warmth and purity of his angelic smile, but there was something much deeper as well. Something…well, a lot like love, Kyoko wanted to think, a lot like Katsuki's expression when he looked at Mizuki, but that was just dumb. Ren looking at her with even a semblance of love! Impossible. But as much as she tried to rebel against the light butterflies that Ren's beautiful smile brought up, her grudges lost all willpower and just could not be motivated to stir up dark feelings as protection against such a pure gaze.

"Tsu-Tsuruga-san?" she questioned. She wanted to touch this beautiful, handsome man who looked at her as if she hung the sun and moon, but she obviously couldn't because…because…well, Kyoko couldn't think of anything right now with Ren's face and Ren's muscled (ugh! did she really just think that?) body so close, but she just couldn't.

Ren valued their relationship as well, but they just weren't going to move anywhere if Mogami-san constantly boxed in their relationship as one between a senpai and kohai as emotional self-defense. She clearly valued their time together (she had just said so! Ren felt like crowing to the world). He couldn't—he wasn't good enough for her, and maybe he didn't deserve her love, but he knew like hell he would treat her with the adoration that she deserved, unlike that undeserving bastard who had somehow gotten her heart once and idiotically crushed it. He could be a very, very good friend to her at the least. Anything more than just a senpai to the girl he loved.

"Kyoko," Ren said softly. "I hope you think of me as more than just a senpai. More than just a work acquaintance."

Kyoko flushed loudly, red racing across her cheeks traveling to the tips of her ears. Her name spoken so informally in Ren's pleasing, low voice brought tingles made her jolt at how much she liked the sound. _I am a shameless, shameless girl_, Kyoko realized. _Objectifying Tsuruga-san like that! Like a…a sex object! And all the while, poor, naïve Tsuruga-san trusts me enough to want to be friends, when I am no different from those other woman who see the handsome outside and ignore the talented, fair, driven, exceptional man on the inside. _

"I couldn't," Kyoko managed to squeak out, genuine fear in her voice as she scuffed her feet against the ground. "I wouldn't even dream of it; Tsuruga-san, you have no idea the kind of person I am or what I can do. You really shouldn't offer your friendship out to anyone so freely; so many people could take advantage of you and just moments ago I was—I was, well that's not important, but in other words I think—"

One hand shot out to stroke through Kyoko's hair before cupping her face tenderly, lifting her face to look at his. In contrast to Kyoko's uneasiness, Ren's eyes were light with amusement.

Kyoko jolted again. _Jeez_, she thought. _Tsuruga-san really has no sense of cultural and socially acceptable standards at all. Japanese should not be so touchy feely. _She wasn't complaining though. She just stood there, blinking up Ren, her face in his hand. Tsuruga-san, despite his big stature, must be a very gentle man, she concluded, judging by the way he cradled her face so carefully.

"Kyoko," Ren said silkily. Kyoko felt herself shiver for some reason. "Could it be…that you don't think I'm good enough to be your friend?"

Kyoko's eyes widened comically.

She shook her head furiously, but Ren stilled her with his hand and pressed on, "I see…you want to restrict our relationship to that of one between senpai and kohai so you won't have to interact with me outside of the workplace. You want to be nothing more than bare acquaintances." Kyoko began to shake with the force of the denial wracking through her. "That's fine of course. I'm sorry, Mogami-san, for imposing on you then."

He made to leave, turning on his heel. Ren had only walked a couple of steps when Kyoko lunged, reached to grab the edge of his sleeve.

"No! Tsuruga-san!" The words flew out of her mouth before she even knew what she was going to say.

Ren turned back towards her. _Yes?_ his expression asked. He was, altogether, having too much fun teasing her like this. He knew that most of her worry was impersonal, knew that it stemmed from respect for his acting ability, not the man he was, but still…still, when she looked at him such a worried gaze, gripping his shirt so desperately…even he might get a little conceited. _This is bad_, he thought. He wanted to tease her some more.

"Is there something you wanted, Mogami-san?" Ren asked innocently, amping up the guile of cluelessness.

Kyoko gulped. _Call me Kyoko!_ had been the first thing to pop into her mind, althought Kyoko quickly berated herself for it. That would be far too intimate for someone as far above her as Tsuruga-san, no matter how much she liked the his voice curled around her name.

"I…well…" Kyoko floundered. On one hand, it would be terrible of her to take advantage of Tsuruga-san's generosity and actually claim a close relationship with him, but on the other hand she couldn't leave Tsuruga-san doubting his own charm.

She sighed. How to put this? "Ren," she reassured, "This has absolutely nothing to do with you as a person or an actor, but it's absolutely impossible for you and me to become, you know—"

"It's okay," Ren said gently. "Mogami-san, you are far too polite. If you don't want to be friends with me, you just have to say so."

"No!" Kyoko cried. "That's not it at all! Tsuruga-san you're not listening; it's _me_ who's not good enough for _you_."

Ren's hand—_had it been on her cheek the whole time?—_reached out to pinch one cheek, jostling her head back and forth. Kyoko felt her face stretch out and Ren played with it.

"Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko stumbled backward frantically to escape his hand, tripping and landing on her butt. "Wh-what are you doing?"

Ren took a seat on the grass next to her. "Kyoko," he said gravely. "I want to be friends with you."

"I mean, you said that, but it's just not—"

"Do you want to be friends with me?"

"Of course! It's just that—"

"There. Now we're friends. See, that wasn't so tough, was it?" Ren asked lightly.

Kyoko opened her mouth to object, whipping her head around but stopped suddenly when the motion brought her face very close to Ren's. He looked at her with very dark, steady eyes trained on her, like she was the only thing he could see. A light smile tugged the corner of his lips, giving him a very flirty look. And when he blinked, those long eyelashes of his bobbed up and down. It was utterly unfair for a man to have such long eyelashes, Kyoko decided, when he probably couldn't even properly appreciate them.

"Okay…" she conceded softly almost without realizing it. With a gasp, she clasped her hand to her mouth in horror at what she'd done, but it was too late to take it back—Ren already on his angelic smile on, and no woman alive could refuse that.

"Well then." Ren's smile turned sly. "Why don't you try calling me by my first name, Kyoko-chan?"

"Eh?"

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**A/N: **Something small for us poor souls waiting desperately for the next chapter. (Thank you S2S!)  
If you see any inconsistencies, tell me, and I'll let you know whether they're on purpose or not. ;) **Reviewers get to know which chapter I'm doing next. **(Sorry, stftisy people, it's coming!)


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